Guide to the Organization for Tropical Studies Records, 1962 - 1974

The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), founded in 1963, has had its North American Office located at Duke University since 1976. The OTS offers students, faculty, and researchers opportunities to work hands-on in tropical sciences in Costa Rica and other Latin American countries. The Organization for Tropical Studies Records contain correspondence, administrative materials, reports, memoranda, and course materials from the early years of OTS. The focus of the collection is on the administrative structure of OTS and planning the course offerings in Latin America. Major correspondents include Jorge Campabadal, J. T. Spencer, and Kenneth J. Turnbull. Major topics include tropical biology, geography, meteorology, earth science, and forestry, and the National Science Foundation. English.

The Organization for Tropical Studies Records includes correspondence, administrative materials, reports, memoranda, and course materials from the early years of OTS. The focus of the collection is on the administrative structure of OTS and planning the course offerings in Latin America. Major correspondents include Jorge Campabadal, J. T. Spencer, and Kenneth J. Turnbull. Major topics include tropical biology, geography, meteorology, earth science, and forestry, and the National Science Foundation. The collection is organized into two series. The Administrative series contains correspondence from the North American Office, as well as correspondence with OTS administrators and faculty. In addition, the series has information on committees, sources of funding, founding documents, and topics related to the administration of OTS. The second series, Courses, has information on the planning, curriculum, course participants, critiques, and other aspects of educational programming offered by OTS.

Access to the Collection

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Records, such as search committee files or others pertaining to employment where individuals are identified, are closed for 70 years.

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

In off-site storage; 48 hours advance notice is required for use.

Use & Permissions

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

The Administrative series begins with correspondence. The Reading File is a collection of all the outgoing correspondence of the North American Office. Most of this correspondence is written by J. T. Spencer and Kenneth J. Turnbull, Executive Directors of OTS. Following the Reading Files is correspondence organized by the name of the sender. Much of this correspondence is from Jorge Campabadal of the Costa Rican Office. All of the correspondence is arranged in chronological order, with the latest materials in the front of the folders.

In addition to correspondence, the Administrative series contains committee materials, founding materials, information on funding (much of which came from the National Science Foundation), and other topics of importance to OTS. These materials are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

The Courses series contains information about the OTS's educational programs. Most of the materials are related to individual classes in the tropical sciences. These are arranged chronologically by course session date. Some courses have numbers (i.e. #71-4); when available, these have been provided. Also included in this series are course critiques, planning information, and other materials related to OTS courses.

Several international conferences held in 1962 and 1963 brought together representatives from a number of universities to discuss the possibility of an international program in tropical biology to foster education and research. The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) formally began in 1963 as an educational program that offered graduate students and faculty hands-on experience in tropical biology. In February 1963, the OTS was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization, and the first Board meeting was held in Miami, Florida in June 1963. The ten charter members of OTS were: Harvard University, the Universities of Southern California, California (System), Washington, Kansas, Michigan, Miami, Florida, Costa Rica, and Louisiana State University. The OTS now has 63 members from across the Americas.

OTS offers a number of courses in biology, geography, meteorology, earth science, forestry, and other tropical sciences. The courses generally last two to three months, and draw students from the United States, Latin America, and elsewhere. At its three biological stations in Costa Rica and other Latin American locations, over 3,600 graduate students have participated in OTS programs since 1963. OTS employs a full-time administrative staff, but all OTS faculty are temporary, drawn from member institutions to teach their specialties, providing a dynamic experience for students. In addition, scientists come to the Costa Rican stations to conduct research throughout the year.

OTS had its North American Office (NAO) in Miami, Florida from its founding to 1976, when the NAO moved to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Donald Stone, now professor emeritus in biology, served as Executive Director. The OTS also maintains a Costa Rican Office. The OTS website, which offers additional information, is located at: http://www.ots.duke.edu.